Toronto Manulife Centre Podium and Streetscape Renewal | 9.75m | 2s | Manulife Real Estate | MdeAS Architects

[ADRM]

Still waiting for the first tasteful/respectful contemporary update of a building of this style and vintage in the city. More vandalism to come elsewhere, to be sure.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Yup. There is a way to update your retail spaces without completely violating the whole architectural expression of the complex.

At a fundamental level, I don't think there is any particularly good way to add significant amounts of retail frontage along Bloor without destroying the architecture. The die is cast the moment the choice to add two floors worth of it is made.

AoD

 

[zang]

Still waiting for the first tasteful/respectful contemporary update of a building of this style and vintage in the city. More vandalism to come elsewhere, to be sure.

Uhhh…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Theatre_(Toronto)

Albeit it's older, but there are respectful updates in this city; no need for histrionics.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

I am not sure if that would count as "tasteful" or "respectful" - it is typical Toronto-styled facadism (given they tore everything else down and left it in such a state prior to redevelopment) and the architecture of that project from the early condo boom is banal at best.

AoD

 

[Skeezix]

Uhhh…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Theatre_(Toronto)

Albeit it's older, but there are respectful updates in this city; no need for histrionics.

I don't see any "histrionics" in @ADRM's post. And I sense he was referring more to full out 1960s/70s brutalism.

Still waiting for the first tasteful/respectful contemporary update of a building of this style and vintage in the city. More vandalism to come elsewhere, to be sure.

Nothing comes to mind. I think they did a respectful job on the old Sears Canada HQ on Jarvis, but there was no attempt to increase the GFA there. (ETA: It's also brick, not concrete, IIRC)

ETA: Have they done anything at UTSC?

 

[zang]

I don't see any "histrionics" in @ADRM's post. And I sense he was referring more to full out 1960s/70s brutalism, not mid-century architecture like the University Theatre.

It was the term "vandalism" that I took to be histrionic.

You want solely brutalist updates that I consider respectful? 222 Jarvis and The Ontario Science Centre are just two. Yeah, the Manulife is the most visible and recognizable (outside of maybe the Robarts), but there are updates that are respectful…

I am not sure if that would count as "tasteful"; and the architecture of that project from the early condo boom is banal at best.

AoD

Tasteful might've been a bad word in this case. It certainly was a respectful relative to how much of the building they had to work with. You know it was a theatre, despite what's behind it, and the updates celebrated what it was.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

Tasteful might've been a bad word in this case. It certainly was a respectful relative to how much of the building they had to work with. You know it was a theatre, despite what's behind it, and the updates celebrated what it was.

I wouldn't go that far singing its praises - it is kind of hard to not know it is a theatre because the facade and the marquee, which is in front of the development; unlike this instance, where any addition cannot help but avoid visually interrupting the facade. It's a fundamentally different context.

AoD

 

[ADRM]

You want solely brutalist updates that I consider respectful? 222 Jarvis and The Ontario Science Centre are just two. Yeah, the Manulife is the most visible and recognizable (outside of maybe the Robarts), but there are updates that are respectful…

I hate the 222 Jarvis additions, but the Science Centre is a good example. Manulife and Robarts (in-progress) are egregious in my mind, though. Simpsons Tower, too, though it doesn't fall as neatly into the classification.

 

[Benito]

Today.

 

[Bayer]

I wonder why they removed the soil/vegetation from that section, in the first and second pics above. I noticed that from my apartment in Manulife. Would that not be close to the location of the older Varsity theatres?

 

[DSC]

I wonder why they removed the soil/vegetation from that section, in the first and second pics above. I noticed that from my apartment in Manulife. Would that not be close to the location of the older Varsity theatres?

Probably to replace waterproof membrane.

 

[androiduk]

From today;

 

[Benito]

Good progress.

 

[TrickyRicky]

I always enjoyed the form of this building when I was a child. Passing by this lately I sympathize with the “filling in” argument that this addition destroys the original expression of the design.

On the other hand this is a retail street and this building never really worked well at street level for its tenants, choosing to be inward oriented. The new build-out addresses this shortcoming.

 

[Northern Light]

I wonder why they removed the soil/vegetation from that section, in the first and second pics above. I noticed that from my apartment in Manulife. Would that not be close to the location of the older Varsity theatres?

DSC, is likely on point.

The 'new' Varsity (#1-6) is the taller beige coloured box at the back in photo (it sits on top of the Indigo)

The 'old' Varsity (#7-8) are located in the shorter, darker coloured box to the left of the vegetation in the picture.

It would be nice if they invested the money to raise the roof slightly and convert it to stadium-style seating.

I know it has been considered.

I heard a deal on that was imminent a couple of years ago; but nothing since.

Presumably Cineplex determined the cost not to be worth it and/or there were unanticipated issues. I'm uncertain.

They also did some modest renovations (new carpets etc.) a year or two back. That would have seemed like the time to address that.

Aside from a better cinematic experience in both auditoriums a re-vamp is required to address accessibility issues. Right now, someone using a wheel chair has to be escorted around the back area, that is otherwise staff only, along side the garbage bins in order to get into these auditoria.

It would also be sensible to address the grossly under capacity washrooms at that end of the complex.